Senator Ali Ndume, the Chief Whip of the Senate, has clarified the distinction between corruption involving politicians and individuals.
According to him, “Our corruption thrives because of people’s involvement. Politicians give a portion of their stolen wealth to the people”
Ndume highlighted that corruption within Nigerian politics is primarily influenced by individuals and, therefore, suggests that it may not necessitate severe consequences.
The senator acknowledged that politicians engage in corruption but also distribute resources to the public.
He said, “If you compare us, politicians, to all the corruption, it is very small. Our corruption is people-driven. If you steal it, you will go and share it with the people. If you don’t, you are not coming back for four years. There is no reason for stealing.
“I have been to the National Assembly, I can’t say because we are on TV now and not telling the truth. If the death penalty is supposed to be included in corruption, I will support it but you don’t go and kill someone that stole one million or one billion, no. But someone who steals one trillion of government money should be killed.
“The death penalty is the best deterrent for those being caught for drugs. If you do drugs, you are killing people.
“In fact, that means you have destroyed the lives of so many people and killed so many people,”